How do you put the punk into Steampunk?

That is the very question that I shall be trying to answer on Friday at the SFX Weekender, ably assisted by a number of other luminaries of the UK Steampunk scene. Joining me on the panel will be:

Ms Raven Dane - author of the Cyrus Darian books, Ms Dane is a more recent convert to the cult of Steampunk. As well as writing Steampunk stories she has also published vampire books and comedy fantasy novels.

Ms Karen Grover - also (well-)known as Lady Elise within Steampunk circles, Ms Grover is a Steampunk enabler and a leading light of the Victorian Steampunk Society. She possesses an expert knowledge of historical costumes, a knowledge that she has lent to countless TV shows including Channel 4's 1066: The Battle For Middle Earth.

Mr Stephen Hunt - is a fantasy, science fiction and thriller/crime author, probably best known as the creator of the Jackelian series of books. 2012 sees the publication of Mr Hunt's sixth book in the series, From the Deep of the Dark.

Mr Robert Rankin - The nearest thing we have in this country to Steampunk royalty. Mr Rankin was writing Steampunk before it gained the mass market mainstream appeal it is teetering on the verge of today. Mr Rankin also does a splendid turn as your compere for Saturday night's SFX Awards.

Ms Sam Stone - Author of the Vampire Gene series, Ms Stone will no doubt be wowing the audience with one of her very fine corsets as well. She is also on a host of other panels and signing for a plethora of publishers over the weekend, so we're very lucky to have her join our Steampunk shenanigans.

Mr Lavie Tidhar - Mr Tidhar is a prolific writer, keeping up a steady stream of highly-regarded novels, novellas and short stories, and has even been described as an “emerging master” by Locus Magazine. He is the author of the Bookman Histories - the third title The Great Game is launching at the Weekender - while his novel Osama is up for not only the coveted Red Tentacle award at the 2011 Kitschies, but has also been shortlisted for the BSFA Award.

Remember, 5.00pm Friday in the Screening Zone.

My signing slot has been moved to 10.00am on the Saturday (crikey!) and I'll also be taking part in the Abaddon/Solaris Fun Hour in the Victoria Bar at 2.00pm on the Friday.

Remember, if you see me, do stop and say hello. Maybe I'll see you there...

The SFX Weekender - The Schedule!

It's been some time coming but yes, the schedule for the SFX Weekender 3 is finally here!

I'm getting quite excited/nervous about this now, partly because of how much work I still need to finish between now and then but mainly because I'm going to be hosting the 'How do you put the punk into steampunk?' panel on the Friday.

It's the first time the SFX Weekender has had a dedicated steampunk panel (last year the steampunk element was amalgamated into the 'Duel Britannia' panel) and I feel a certain responsibility now rests upon my shoulders not to let the side down, an onus to... basically, to not cock it up!

So although you'll see that the bar opens at midday on Friday, I'm going to be taking it easy before 5.00pm and letting my hair down (which may or may not be coloured green for the occasion) at the Kitschies Awards ceremony later the same evening.

I won't be going too mad there either though, because come 10.00am the next morning I'll be signing in Bartertown alongside Guy Haley (he of SFX/White Dwarf/Angry Robot/Solaris fame). I promised I'd catch up with Guy at some point over the weekend, but at the time didn't realise I would be sharing a table with him, so job done!

I should also give a shout out to the Abaddon/Solaris Fun Hour which is taking place at 2.00pm on the Friday... in the bar! Last year it was the Abaddon Pub Hour, which probably tells you all you really need to know. But to truly experience its wonders you have to be there, so do come along. It'll be a lot of fun and, failing that, it's in the bar.

There's loads going on all weekend, with panels, Q&As, signings, competitions and screening from dawn (well 10.00am) until dusk (actually, well past midnight), so if you are coming along, check out the schedule and maybe I'll see you there.

Jonathan Green at the SFX Weekender 3

In less than two weeks time 4,000 science-fiction and fantasy fans will descend on Pontin's Prestatyn Sands to meet the likes of Sylvester McCoy, Alex Kingston, Brian Blessed and Eve Myles. And I'll be one of them.

But I'm not only going as a fan, I'm also going as a guest. And if all goes according to plan, I'm going to be hosting the 'How do you put the punk into steampunk?' panel on Friday 3 February at 5.00pm, featuring the likes of Robert Rankin, Stephen Hunt and Lavie Tidhar.

Later the same evening, from 7.00 - 8.00pm to be precise, the Kitschies awards ceremony will be taking place, when the year's most intelligent, progressive and entertaining genre literature - a.k.a. the 2011 Red, Inky, Golden and Black Tentacles - will all be revealed.

Then, on the Saturday morning, at the semi-respectable time of 11.00am, I shall be signing at the Rebellion stand, so if you're coming along, drop by and say "Hi" and thrust copies of your favourite Pax Britannia novels or Fighting Fantasy gamebooks in front of me - or even my newest Doctor Who adventure* - and I'll happily deface them for you with a permanent marker. Now I can't say fairer than that, can I?

Now if I can just shift this cold and sore throat before then...

* Which is just out in time for the Weekender!

Friday the 13th... Unlucky for some

Yes, I know it's not Friday the 13th today, but last Friday (which was the 13th) the shortlists for The Kitschies 2011 were announced*.

Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein was put forward for consideration by my publishers but it wasn't to be this time, although fellow steampunk author** Lavie Tidhar did make the shortlist for Best Novel - the coveted Red Tentacle - for Osama: A Novel.

The winners of the Red Tentacle, the Golden Tentacle (for best newcomer) and Inky Tentacle (for best cover artist) will be announced on Friday 3 February at the SFX Weekender***.

However, all is not lost as far as Anno Frankenstein is concerned! Oh no!

You see the Tor.com 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards are now taking votes, until until 11:59 PM Friday, 20 January.

Notice the word 'Readers' in the title? That's right, it means that you the book buying (and presumably reading) public get to choose. Basically it's a popularity contest but one that Anno Frankenstein, with the right backing, might just have a shot at.

So whaddya say? Simply click this link and in the comments section after the blog post about the awards, type the title of the novel (Anno Frankenstein), the author's name (Jonathan Green), and if you want to the name of the publisher (Abaddon Books) as well.

And it's not just Anno Frankenstein that's eligible. In the Best Short Fiction category, I have a couple of stories published by Black Library that were both published last year, the 40K story But Dust in the Wind and the Warhammer tale Sir Dagobert's Last Battle.

So, what are you waiting for? If you vote for me I'll be eternally grateful. ;-)

* Provoking no end of Internet interest such as here, here and on the Guardian website here.

** He'll hate me for saying that.

*** Good luck, Lavie!

Never judge a book by its cover - unless it happens to be a Pax Britannia novel

Jamie Fry (of Fighting Fantasy Collector fame) contacted me via my forum yesterday to let me know that Pax Britannia: Dark Side is featured in the latest issue of SciFiNow magazine.

I duly wandered down to my local branch of WHSmith this morning, picked up a copy, turned to the Library section and discovered this...

A full page about Dark Side and the impact its cover makes! Full credit must go to Mark Harrison (cover artist) and Simon Parr (designer), for the point of the piece is how the fantastic cover (a gruesome homage to Georges Méliès A Trip to the Moon) made Senior Staff Writer Jodie Tyley pick up the book in the first place and discover the whole Pax Britannia series.

From personal experience I know that this particular cover has created no like controversy. Mr Harrison's wife hated it (and my wife's not too keen), whereas plenty of people at the SFX Weekender loved it (as does my son), so much so that the book sold out during the course of the weekend.

Anyway, at the end of the article, you are invited to discuss your feelings about the Pax Britannia series over at the SciFiNow forum, which you can find here.

The Dark Side cover is certainly my favourite to date out of all the Pax Britannia covers. The challenge now is to come up with something equally inspiring for the cover artist of the next book in the series.

What about a steampunk King Kong...?